A Dish Best Served Cold
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, days 932b-945b: Sequel to 'Red Herring' - Months after they encountered the Glee Club in New York, an event leads Beckett and Castle to Lima, Ohio.
1. First

_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 44th cycle. Now cycle 45!_

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_**INTRODUCING "CHEAT SHEET" - **If you want to know ahead of time when a certain series will be updated next, just reassemble the link below and check out the list, save it, print it, bookmark it, whatever you need!  
Go to: gleekathon [dot] tumblr [dot] com [slash] cheatsheet_

_** UPDATED WITH CYCLE 45 CHEAT SHEET ** Check it out to find out about **shift days**!_

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_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: Activities in Friendship._

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**"A Dish Best Served Cold"  
Glee/Castle Crossover  
Sequel to "Red Herring" (and "Welcome to Chez Castle")**

_**A/N: It's that time of year again! As last year, this story is dedicated to two awesome birthday girls,  
aka Marie and Charlotte :) This one is going to be two weeks long instead of one though! ;)**_

**1. First**

_New York City_

There was no telling how long this had been in the making. As opportunistic as it could have looked, there was no way this had been just that. They had been planning this, but that didn't matter: they wouldn't get away with it.

Four inmates had made a run for it. Well, that wasn't true. Five had meant to escape, but only four of them would actually succeed. It would be the discovery of the fifth man – dead – which would alert the guards to what they would soon understand to be a break out. By the time they had come to realize it though, it was too late. The four inmates had made it past the gates.

The headcount was performed, and that along with footage from security cameras had helped them identify the four escapees. The information was floated down the precincts, looking for any assistance they could get. Some of these men were more dangerous than others, and all of them needed to be brought back in before anyone else got hurt.

When the notice reached the twelfth precinct, it was Detective Esposito who first read it and recognized one of the names. He had shown it to his partner, and Detective Ryan had to agree: they had to tell them. For now, only one of those two they needed to tell was present. When they had slipped the notice on to her desk, Detective Beckett had frowned, having already heard of the break-out, but then she saw the name too, and she had the same reaction. She picked up her phone and dialled him up.

Richard Castle had been at home, watching with no short amount of amusement as his daughter's face receded further and further into a cringe, the more her grandmother attempted to will her long hair into a direction it just didn't want to follow, saying how it would accentuate her features or some thing or another, he was much more interested with the 'help me' looks she was throwing him, right along with something like 'the longer you wait, the more you will pay.' When his phone rang and he saw it was Beckett, he got up, giving her the thumbs up to 'hang in there,' and he imagined he'd pay for that one dearly… just not now. He had barely had time to extend a greeting to the detective when she just came right out and told him about their situation.

"It's Matheson, the Marie Bennett case? He escaped this morning along with three other inmates."

"I'm on my way," he told her, hanging up. She wasn't saying it, but he was thinking it and he knew she would be too. Having him brought up again, it wasn't so much Marie Bennett that came to mind the most, although she did to some extent. What they really thought about was that Glee Club, the one they had gotten to know some months ago, when Matheson had tried to use them as scapegoats for his act.

He had barely made it to the precinct that he almost ran right into Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito on their way out, where he was informed that Matheson had been spotted on footage from a bus station and they were on their way there to try and catch him. He didn't have to be told twice and soon they were paired up, two cars speeding toward the station. When they arrived, they were directed to where they could see this footage for themselves. What they had not been told was that they had not caught his appearance live, only upon review once they'd heard about the break out, and that in the meantime there had been a number of buses which had departed, with no guarantee which of them, if any of them, carried their man.

With the list of possible buses, soon it became very clear to them. Of all the directions he could have taken, only one of them took him anywhere near someone he knew, and while he could have just been making a run for it, anywhere the road would take him, they couldn't ignore the possibility that he might have been bound for Ohio, and… Castle looked to Beckett, and she knew what he was thinking.

"We have to warn them."

X

_Lima, Ohio_

Their group had gotten bigger in the last few months. Their numbers had fallen, and then they had risen again. They didn't need much time to adjust, and although there were changes, a lot of things just stayed the same. And as they stood, spread out over the auditorium stage, rehearsing a routine as led by both Mike and Brittany, some of them did well, while others struggled, though they either tried to hide it, or weren't giving much effort to begin with.

"Come on, guys, we need to focus. Competition is only going to get harder as time goes on, and our best chance to come out across is to keep practicing. That's the only way you'll improve," Will insisted.

"What are you looking at me for, talk to knuckle dragger over there," Santana frowned.

"Hey…" Finn frowned.

"The fact that you knew I was talking about you kind of proves my point," she smirked.

"Okay, Santana, let's not get started there, we…"

"Excuse me? Will Schuester?" They turned when the man's voice called their director's name.

"Yes, that's me," he frowned, seeing the police officer's uniform. There was an intake of break among the group. What if something had happened to someone, a family member, or… "How can I help you?"

"This is the… New Directions Glee Club?" the officer asked, checking his notepad.

"We are," Rachel spoke from the stage. "What's going on?" she asked, as Will signalled that he'd handle it.

"We've just received notice from a precinct up in New York that an inmate escaped from prison and might be heading toward you, a Jared Matheson," he read again, causing an instant reaction from all but a few of the kids on stage. "We'll be keeping a look out in case this Matheson does come into Lima, which has yet to be confirmed, and we promise we'll do our best to keep you kids safe."

The officer had given some more information, words of advice, but eventually he had left. Once he was gone, there was an immediate outburst of voices, of concern and fear and confusion. Those who had not been part of the club at the time didn't really know who this man was and now had to be informed. Matheson had been running the competition when they had gone to Nationals the year before. Someone had been murdered, a woman who also worked there, and for a moment the crime had been pinned on them, on Brittany in particular, before they had figured out they were being set up. They had agreed and helped the detectives flush him out, which had resulted in Tina being taken as a shield by the one they'd thought to be guilty, when in fact the woman had only been a decoy, letting Matheson escape. Luckily, he had still been caught, and he had been put behind bars… until today.

"What do we do?" Rachel asked. "What if he does show up?" As much as they didn't want to, they had to think about it, because for now… they were sitting ducks.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	2. Second

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: You'll Find Wonder, chapter 14._

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**"A Dish Best Served Cold"**

**2. Second**

_New York City - the next morning_

The man hunt for the four escaped convicts was still under way. The first of them had been tracked down within an hour of the break, surrendered easy but unbreakable from his silence. The second one had given them a slip for the better part of the day, until he was cornered and, after a stand off, was taken down, heading to the morgue rather than back to jail. This left two, and while they had tried to follow all the bus routes he could have taken - not assuming anything for the time being - none of them had produced Jared Matheson.

"He might still be in the city, trying to throw us off by chasing down buses," Ryan pointed out, but even he didn't really believe that.

Then that morning they had caught a break, not with Matheson but with the last escapee, Kyle Bowman. When Beckett had heard they had spotted him, she had put out the call not to move in on him yet.

"If he spooks and runs, or gets cut down like Ruiz yesterday, we might lose our last shot at getting some information," she told Castle as they drove off to the spot where they had seen him.

"Maybe I could give it a shot. He won't see cop when I get near him." She hesitated, but he could see her weighing the options.

"You know as well as I do what's at stake here..."

"Yes. Which is why I won't mess it up." She looked at him, and he was on.

Kyle Bowman had been sighted in a restaurant in Chinatown. From what they could see, he had found himself some new clothes, and now after six years inside he couldn't help but partake in the things he had missed, like the food. He was shoveling it in like his life depended on it.

Castle would make his approach carefully, not letting on the fact that he was there seeking out Bowman. He sat at a neighboring table, looking at the menu. All he had to do was observe, signal. He might have had ideas of his own, but then he thought of those kids. He thought of Brittany, the one Alexis had befriended, he thought of Alexis herself, if he was in the position where she was the one being affected by how he performed now.

From what he had read in Bowman's file though, he doubted the man would go the way of Ruiz. And he didn't look like the silent type either. And when he looked up, he found the man was looking right at him... Had he been made? What if he...

"Wait, I know who you are," he suddenly pointed his fork at him. "You're that guy, the writer... Castle, right?" Of all things, he hadn't pegged him for a fan...

Outside, observing from afar, Beckett frowned as she saw Castle move tables. "He's sitting with him?" she looked ready to move in, but at the same time she had to give him a chance. He had pulled a surprise once or twice before.

For the next twenty minutes or so, Beckett, Ryan and Esposito watched from their hideout as Castle and Bowman had what looked like a lively conversation. They were losing it, but then they saw the tone of the conversation seemed to change. Bowman looked serious now, and the detectives braced themselves for a run, or...

Beckett's phone rang and she answered. "You can come in now," Castle informed her, and when she looked back, he was waving at her.

Shortly after, Beckett and Castle were back in the interrogation room, across from Kyle Bowman. He had been given a deal, no time added to his sentence, if he could give them information that would lead to the capture of Jared Matheson.

"Did he say anything to you about where he might go after the escape?" Beckett asked.

"Well not directly to me, but I heard him talking, a few times. Said something about unfinished business, some kids down in Ohio I think he said." That was really all they needed to know. Castle could see Beckett's mind had already shifted to this now confirmed problem. When they left interrogation, Castle had to ask.

"What do we do now? We can't leave them, it's our fault they're in danger," he called back thir plan to wash out their killer using the Glee Club from McKinley

"I know, and I agree," Beckett made clear. "I'll put in the request, but there's no guarantee they'll let us in."

"And if they don't?" he asked.

"Let's just hope they do," she told him, and of unspoken words he found here that she would go either way, as would he, but they had to try proper channels first.

They wouldn't need to sneak through Ohio. Before long, they were given the go ahead. It had taken more convincing to have them let Castle go as well, but Beckett had made it happen. They would each go home and pack, but then they were bound for Lima, Ohio.

X

They would text each other semi-regularly from day to day. Brittany's messages could sometimes be confusing, and other times she was thinking she had been sent messages meant for another by accident. But either way, she considered the girl as one of her friends.

Then that morning she had started sending her messages which seemed to indicate she believed Alexis was on her way to see her. When she had asked what she was going on about, Brittany had texted back, telling her about the visit from the policeman to the choir room the day before, and how Santana had suggested that might mean Mr. Castle and Detective Beckett might be on their way, which Brittany had taken to mean that Alexis would be coming as well. She replied, telling her she wasn't sure, but she'd get back to her. Just then her father came through the door.

She saw the look on his face, and she could tell he was trying to hide it, but there was no fooling her. Santana's prediction was coming true. As he dashed off to his room, Alexis bolted after him.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	3. Third

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: Something I Said?  
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**"A Dish Best Served Cold"**

**3. Third**

_New York City_

He didn't want to lie to her, but for her protection he felt he couldn't tell her what was happening and risk having her get pulled into all this. He knew she was friends with Brittany, familiar with a handful of them because of this, but he also knew what that man was capable of. The fact that he had broken out of prison so he could strike back at those kids told him he definitely didn't want his daughter anywhere near this.

"Going somewhere?" He had just gotten hold of his suitcase when her voice startled him and the case slipped from his hand. He turned and saw her, standing there at the door, innocent, calm… He allowed the leaning to retrieve his suitcase to be his moment to work out the 'busted' flush to work itself out of his system. He put the case on his bed and opened it before moving to get what he'd need.

"Yes, just a quick trip out of state, you'll be alright," he told her as he watched her shuffle in and do her thing, helping him pack. She always thought of the items he would later realize he had forgotten at home.

"I know, Dad," she told him, and for a second he wasn't sure if she meant she knew she'd be alright or she knew about what was happening in Lima. "I've stayed with grandma before," she shrugged, and he relaxed. "How long are you going to be away?" He didn't know. He hoped this would be resolved soon, but he couldn't really tell either.

"It depends," he started, pulling at anything his mind could offer. "My luck may turn…" he hoped his voice sounded convincing, because he sure as hell wasn't.

"You're going gambling?" she asked, and he could have sworn she sounded disappointed, or confused. "I thought you were on a case with Detective Beckett."

"I was," he nodded, taking a hat away from her and shaking his head at her before putting it back in his closet. "I am… Undercover," he leaned to her with excitement she might be more familiar with.

"Well… you'll need your lucky socks," she went to his drawer and pulled out the pair, squeezing it in his suitcase. She looked back to him, like she was waiting for something, but he didn't know what it was. "I'll let you finish," she finally told him, leaving the room just as, from below, he could hear his mother announcing her return. He almost wanted to call Alexis back, tell her the truth, but he remembered his reasons not to, so he let her go.

"Richard?" Martha called.

"In here, mother," he replied, touching the lucky socks in his suitcase… Maybe it wouldn't hurt to bring them anyway.

"Where are you off to?" Martha asked as she entered and saw the suitcase. He looked back beyond her.

"Where's Alexis?"

"She's downstairs," Martha told him, then picking up on something, "What's happened?"

"You know the four convicts who escaped prison yesterday?" he asked, and she nodded. "One of them was from a case I worked on with Beckett. Jared Matheson, he ran the show choir competition," he explained. It didn't take long for her to connect the dots.

"Alexis' friend and that club of hers," she recalled.

"There were suspicions he might be making his way to Ohio after he slipped through our fingers. This morning we caught one of the other escapees, confirmed that Matheson was on his way to Lima, to settle the score with those kids."

"Oh, Richard, you…"

"Beckett and I have already been given the go-ahead to go down there and apprehend him before he can hurt anyone. Mother, promise you won't tell Alexis about this. If she finds out her friend might be in trouble, she'll want to come and…"

"I do," he heard and saw her at the same time, appearing at the door again, over Martha's shoulder.

"Alexis, your father's right. This is dangerous, you could…"

"What, like he doesn't get in trouble all the time working with Beckett?" she surged past her grandmother to come and stand before her father. "Dad, please…"

"Alexis, no… I'm sorry," he put his hands to her shoulders. "I know she's your friend, but we've got this. We need to find this man and stop him, and the thought of having you anywhere near him… I won't be able to let myself focus. I need you safe, and I need you here. Please do this, for me and for her." He could tell she was seeing his point in this, even if she didn't like it.

"Fine," she finally relented. "But you better catch him, or else I'm getting down there," she frowned and he let out a breath, hugging her.

"Not a problem. I've got my socks, right?" he told her and he could feel her smile against him.

"You'll let me know what's happening, right?" she asked as she pulled back.

"Every step of the way," he nodded, then amended, "As much as I can." She kept looking at him. "Everything will be okay," he promised her, even if he thought that kind of sentiment was unsafe… They didn't know what might happen. What if everything wasn't okay and he had to turn around and give her bad news? No, they weren't going to let that happen. He would hold his promise. Then something occurred to him, looking back at her. "You already knew, didn't you?"

"Brittany texted me earlier," she confirmed. "Dad, they're worried."

"We'll be down there in just a few hours, and we'll get to the bottom of this, okay?" he hugged her once more, kissing the top of her head and then bidding his mother goodbye as he grabbed his suitcase and went on his way to meet Beckett.

Left on their own, Martha tried to think of a way to keep Alexis occupied, so she wouldn't worry too much, but it was no use. She had gone down and sat on the couch, phones – home and cell – left in her lap, and… that was her post, so long as she would have to. Martha sighed, moving to sit with her. Now all they could really do was wait.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	4. Fourth

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: You'll Find Wonder, chapter 15._

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**"A Dish Best Served Cold"**

**4. Fourth**

_Lima, Ohio_

He had hoped that they were finally able to put this thing behind them. What had happened at Nationals, with the kids seeing this woman who had been good to them, dead on the ground, before being brought in for questioning, under suspicion, and later put directly in the line of danger from both Matheson and his accomplice, had derailed them all, but they had risen above. Now with the potential for this man to come after them, the stakes were even higher, and they could feel it. They were all on edge, he could see it in their eyes. They didn't want to say it, tried to pretend like there was nothing wrong, but who were they kidding?

There had been talks of them not coming to school, but then there had been a rise of a 'we won't be made to live in fear' kind of mentality, and suddenly they were all going to come in anyway. Even then, he had no idea what he was going to find when he made it to McKinley that day.

He was on his way to his car when his phone rang. He didn't recognize the number, but by the area code he could take a guess who was calling. "Hello?"

"Mr. Schuester, this is Detective Kate Beckett in New York. Listen, I have to inform you we may have confirmation Jared Matheson is making his way to Lima and that he may be coming for the kids in your Glee Club," the woman was direct about it, and he just felt himself freeze right there, with dread in his head and his heart.

"Okay, so what happens now?" he asked.

"My partner and I are driving down toward you as soon as I pick him up, and we should be there in a few hours. In the meantime, if you could gather up the kids, keep them in one place so they're all accounted for. We've already put in the request for all of you to have police standing by in case anything happens before we arrive. Try and keep them calm as best you can. I can't imagine this will be easy, but do what you can."

"Right…" Will sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I can do that."

"Mr. Schuester, I promise you, we are doing everything in our power to keep all of you safe, and we will try to bring an end to this and recapture Matheson as soon as possible."

"I know you will," he nodded to himself, needing to convince himself first and foremost.

"I'll see you in a few hours," Beckett told him before they hung up.

He got in his car, now with only one thing in mind, and that was to get to his kids, do as he had been instructed to do. He thought about the things that had changed. Lauren was no longer part of their group, and they had new members as well, in Blaine and Sugar. Would that change anything in whatever this guy was planning to do? He would have liked to think that they would be spared, because they were so young, but he knew he couldn't really expect that to be the case.

He was nearing the school when he started to see something. At first there were police cars, so he guessed those were the ones Detective Beckett had sent to watch over them until her arrival, but then he saw the front lawn was packed… There were students everywhere, exiting in droves from the main entrance, guided by faculty. He could see Sue, Shannon… Figgins… Emma… She looked the most terrified.

He didn't bother really parking the car, just pulled over and stopped, dashing out and through the crowd of students until he could get somewhere, find… "Emma!" he called to her. When she saw him, she came running, throwing her arms around him.

"Will, thank goodness you're here, you're okay…" there was a sob in her throat.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, holding fast.

"This man came, I don't know how, but he's got a bunch of them in the choir room, they're locked in with him, he's holding them, I…"

"Breathe, okay?" he told her, even though he could feel his own lungs failing him. "How many does he have in there?"

"I don't know, not all of them but most…"

"Wait, how do you know he doesn't have all of them?" he asked, sensing the potential for at least some hope in all this.

"There's a few of them back there," she pointed and when he turned to look he saw them… Finn, Puck, Santana… Lauren was with them, too. Four… barely a quarter of them. He'd have to go to them, make sure they were alright. "Will, what is he going to do to them?" she asked, voice trembling.

"I don't know," he tried not to think too much on that. "But help is on the way. The cops from New York, the ones who arrested him last time, they're on their way."

"They have to hurry…"

"I'll see if I can call them and let them know, if they don't already know… This is crazy, I was just talking to that Detective… She wanted me to get them all together, well… mission accomplished…" his voice showed his own fear now.

"Mr. Schue!" he heard the voice, looked up to find Finn and the other three working their way through the crowd to try and get to him. He moved toward them as well, to try and meet them halfway, with Emma right behind. They were possibly some of the strongest kids in his group, but right here and now they just looked as scared as Emma had. Of course, their friends were in there…

"Are you guys alright?" he couldn't help but hug them all, confirming for himself the very thing he was asking them.

"We're fine," Santana crossed her arms over herself, looking over her shoulder, back to the school, and he had a pretty good idea where her head was at, or with who.

"How did you not end up in there with them?" he had to ask, and the four looked among themselves.

"We were late," Finn guessed. "We have to get them out of there."

"We will," he could do nothing but hope that this would turn out to be true. What was for certain was Beckett and Castle couldn't get there fast enough.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	5. Fifth

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: Take the Floor._

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**"A Dish Best Served Cold"**

**5. Fifth**

_Lima, Ohio_

None of them were supposed to be there, so early in the morning, and they wouldn't have been, if not for everything that was going on. In more or less all of their cases, sleep had been hard to come by. They could try and convince themselves that there was nothing to worry about, but then their minds would wander and they would think about the man coming after them, hurting them or their friends… When morning came, much too early, they found themselves just sitting around home, waiting to go to school. Finally they had just gone in to McKinley, figuring the company of people who knew what they were going through would be better than nothing. They had congregated in the choir room, relieved to see they'd had the same idea.

They couldn't know this had just expedited their peril.

Brittany was the last of them to show up. She had been texting Santana, asking where she was, unaware she had someone on her tail. When she walked through the choir room door, she was greeted by the rest of them, standing and sitting around the room, no rhyme or reason. Quinn moved forward to wrap her arms around her friend, being told of how many sheep she had counted trying and failing to fall asleep.

Sugar had let out a choked squeak and grabbed on to Mercedes' arm so tight that the girl had pushed out a cry and drawn everyone's attention. They saw her staring out to the door, eyes fixed, and when they turned, there he was. Everyone scurried together in mass, very concerned with the way he wouldn't take his hand out of his pocket, and how he would just stare at them.

"You there, bow tie, lock that door, cover the window. And you, Asian girl, you get the other one," he pointed. Blaine and Tina hesitated, Matheson sighed, and he pulled his hand from his pocket, confirming their fears – he held a gun. "The doors, now," he instructed. They went ahead, under the watchful eyes of their friends and boyfriends. Blaine closed one door, turned the lock, took a poster from the wall and stuck it over the window. "Blonde girls, lock that, cover that," he pointed to the door and windows to the side office, and Quinn and Brittany went. "The rest of you, board up those windows, too," he indicated the windows above the chairs.

At the second door, Tina had pulled the door to shut it, though as she did her eye caught that of Coach Beiste passing in the hall. She tried to keep quiet, but she had a sharp intake of breath, catching her attention. She could have run out, or said something, but all she could think about was in a heartbeat the man could start shooting and… So she hurried and shut the door, turning the lock but never losing the woman's eyes. She saw the coach stare over her head, seeing what was happening, and as Tina moved a poster to cover the window, she saw the woman take off running.

"Alright, make it quick, come on!" Matheson raised his voice, then slapped the piano top. "All phones, right here." They were all on edge, so at this point all they could do was follow the order. With everything shut, locked, and covered, and the phones amassed on the black piano top, there was nothing left to do. "Now all of you sit down!" he pointed to the chairs and they went. Hands stretched left and right, grasping on to others, all eyes on the man. One of them had to speak, but who? For once, she had to say, Rachel would have been fine not having everyone's eyes on her… A couple of them were prodding her, and she felt the need to fidget but she fought it, very aware of the gun. She was the captain…

"M… Mr. Matheson… sir?" she spoke, feeling her voice weaken along with all her limbs, even sitting down. When he turned to look at her, she winced, braced herself for a second before she could say anything again. "What… what are we doing now? W-what do you want from us?" she averted her eyes. When he said nothing though, she looked back up, found he was just staring. Then he turned and started pacing about, frowning like he was thinking to himself.

"I don't think he knows…" Artie whispered, and they all watched him going about, not really focused on them, just thinking… He was tipping his hand, just barely. He was overwhelmed, now that this was done, it didn't look like he knew what he was meant to do. It shouldn't have, but having this in mind only made him more dangerous.

X

Standing outside, Will had been keeping an eye on the situation as best he could without getting in people's way. He wanted to know more, but they wouldn't give him a thing. He couldn't help but look to the four he did have. They wouldn't leave the front of the line, the closest they could get, eyes riveted to the building. He wondered what they felt. Fear for their friends, of course, but maybe it wouldn't be lost on them that they could have been in there, too, but they had gotten away from that by having shown up too late. They'd want to talk to him, too, he imagined. After he'd seen them, he had been going around trying to get the information he could. He couldn't tell them everything. He couldn't tell them what Coach Beiste had told the police about spotting a gun…

"Hey…" he finally just went up to them.

"What the hell's going on?" Puck asked. "It's Matheson, right?"

"Yes," Will responded with honesty where he could. "From what I've got, he's got the others in the choir room, the doors are locked, and the windows are covered up. No one's made contact with him."

"Mr. Schue, we have to help them, we have to get in there or something…" Finn frowned.

"No, now, I know you want to help your friends, but the best way you can do that is by staying right here, understand? Everything's going to be fine. Help is on the way."

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	6. Sixth

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: You'll Find Wonder, chapter 16._

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**"A Dish Best Served Cold"**

**6. Sixth**

_On the road from New York to Lima_

The ride should have taken something like ten hours, but with Beckett at the wheel they were estimating they could shave off about a third of that, more if they didn't run into any sort of inconveniences.

They were halfway through Pennsylvania before Ryan had finally managed to reach them. "We should be there in a couple hours, did you get anything more out of Bowman or…"

"How fast can you get to McKinley High if you really step on it?" Ryan cut her off, and he didn't even need to say anything else.

"He's got them," she stated, and she could see Castle's head had turned immediately.

"He's been boarded up in the choir room with eleven of them since just before you and Castle left New York, from what we got."

"Is he armed?"

"The woman who called it in said she saw a gun," he confirmed. Castle was motioning for her to hand the phone over so she could focus on the road ahead and on getting them there as fast as possible while he took care of the information. She tilted her shoulder and he caught the phone on the slide.

"How many's he got?"

"Eleven kids, nine who were involved in New York and two new additions. The other four from New York weren't in the room when Matheson locked it up," Ryan explained. Castle didn't want to have to ask, but he had to.

"Where's B… Ms. Pierce in all this?"

"She's in the choir room," Ryan told him, and he closed his eyes. At his side, Beckett passed on silent sympathy.

"Has he made contact?" she asked so he'd ask. Ryan must have heard, as he answered right away.

"They're still attempting to make contact. You need to get down there as soon as you can," he wouldn't embellish on it.

"On speaker," Beckett asked Castle, and when he did she addressed Ryan. "Put in the call, I want you and Esposito to join us on this."

"It'll be night by the time they…" Castle pointed out.

"Then get on a plane," she cut him off, and hearing the stress leak out of her voice wasn't encouraging. Ryan didn't have to be told twice and they soon hung up so the two detectives could find the quickest way to join them, while they tried to get there even faster. Neither Beckett nor Castle said a word at first. It was a good thing she had her lights on or else they would have been pulled over for speeding a long time ago. The car may have been cruising along, but inside it everything felt sluggish with concern.

"I should call Alexis…" he finally broke the silence. "I don't want her to worry more than she has to, but I promised her I'd keep her up to date if she stayed in New York." He stared at his phone. "Working with you, I do get into my share of dangerous situations, and I see her dealing with that, with the thought of someone that means so much to her being in trouble and being powerless to help. Now I'm going to call her and tell her that her friend, miles and miles away, is stuck in a room with a man that wants revenge and has a gun to make it happen."

"No," Beckett spoke after a moment. "You're going tell her that we're going to get her out of there," she spoke confidently. He looked to her, pulling hope from her, and finally he could dial.

"Dad?" the quickness in her voice told him she had the phone in hand already and he let out a breath.

"Yeah, it's me. Alexis, I have to tell you something, and let me just start off by saying everyone is fine, alright?" he could just imagine her face, those big blue eyes staring back at him, filled with concern.

"I promise," her voice was small.

"We're driving through Pennsylvania now, but we got a call from Detective Ryan." He paused here, looking back to Beckett again. "Matheson has made it to Lima, he's at McKinley High and he's got most of the club hostage."

"He's got her, hasn't he," she didn't even need to make that a question.

"We'll be there as soon as we can," he promised. "Beckett is just racing down this road now… When we get there, we'll get this taken care of, we'll get her out."

"Right, no, I know you will," she replied, paused. "Thank you for calling."

"Hey, I promised, didn't I?" he smiled like she could see him. After he'd hung up though, the smile didn't last too long. He stared at the phone for a while. "You won't make a liar of me, will you?"

"I swear," Beckett bowed her head. They still had a long way to go, but with her at the wheel it would be much faster than it could have been, that he didn't worry about one bit.

X

_Lima, Ohio_

Time already felt heavy on their shoulders, with each minute that went by, but somehow they had come to realize it had been hours already since they had been locked up in the choir room by the man with the gun. None of them really spoke, just watching him. Only Rachel had dared to speak – because they had made her – and it was only those few words before her throat had given out. But the hours were passing, and eventually they couldn't deny something.

"I'm hungry…" Brittany mumbled, getting looks begging for her to be quiet. But it had been said now, and it was impossible to ignore that they were kind of hungry as well, all of them.

"Don't they usually get someone to send in food after a while in these things?" Mike whispered. "I don't know, like pizza or something?"

"Oh, man, that'd be good right about now," Sam closed his eyes trying not to think about it.

"Rachel, you tell him we're hungry," Mercedes begged of her.

"What? No way, I can't, I…" she blinked, looking back to him – he was still pacing about. He'd stop after a while, stare at them, and then he'd start again. He wasn't completely lost though. Anytime one of them moved in any way that might indicate they were trying to make a break for it, he'd freeze and start lifting the gun until they'd sit back down, very still, and then he'd lower it again. He wasn't as absent as he looked. "Why should I have to? And don't say 'because you're the captain,' because I'm pretty sure that wasn't in the job description!" her voice screeched even still lowered in a whisper.

"This is ridiculous…" Quinn sighed. "Excuse me, Mr. Matheson?" she spoke up and he spun around, lifting the gun and making them jump. Quinn took a moment to breathe but then swallowed that up and forged on. "Just to point out that it's after lunch time and we're all hungry so… if you could just…"

"Don't tell me what to do," he held to his stance. "You'll get to eat when I decide, and right now that's a no. So sit back there and shut up!" he told her, and them by extension, before resuming his pacing.

"Great, that's just fantastic," Kurt sighed.

"I have a granola bar in my bag," Sugar frowned, staring at it on the ground by the piano. Matheson had just grabbed all of their bags and put them there, in case they had anything they might use to retaliate. "Tastes like cardboard but right now I'd eat the bar and the wrapper too if I could… What did you guys do to him to make him so angry?" she asked, clueless to the history of the club and Matheson.

"He was in charge of Nationals last year in New York. He killed someone, tried to frame Brittany for it," Artie started.

"We all got interrogated by the cops and Richard Castle," Sam added and both Sugar and Blaine reacted at that. "And then they figured out Brittany was innocent and being framed, so they used us to get the real killer to reveal himself."

"Then his secretary was going to take the fall for it, and she had Tina," Rachel continued the story, the girl in question shivering at the memory. "But it was just a diversion so he could get away, and they ended up catching him and putting him in jail."

"And then he escaped," Blaine recalled from the cop's visit. "And the first thing he did was… to come here…" he brought it home for them to reach the conclusion they had been trying not to put into words, and finally it was Brittany who said it.

"He's really going to kill us, isn't he…"

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	7. Seventh

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: Crossover._

* * *

**"A Dish Best Served Cold"**

**7. Seventh**

_Lima, Ohio_

Once the police had started cordoning off the school from the onlookers, gotten appraised of the situation, calls had begun to go out. Will had been made to provide the list, and for once he was glad he had the numbers right there with him, although he would have given anything not to have to use them, not for this. But as it was, there were eleven kids in there, in potential danger, and their parents had to be informed.

They would soon begin to arrive, more and more pooling in, and with each new arrival it was only more real, everything that was happening… The first to arrive had been Burt Hummel and Carole Hudson. Will and the four kids had been standing at the front, but then they had heard her. "Finn!" Carole called when she saw her son, and the sight of him worked to both part the crowd and give her wings to move to him.

"Mom…" he moved to her as well, and she nearly bowled him over throwing her arms around him. He wasn't exactly resisting either. Only with her did his fear for what was happening begin to emerge. Burt behind them looked unable to rest on one emotion. He was relieved that Finn was alright, but angry at the actions of Matheson and most of all terrified for Kurt who had to be in there with this man. Will moved to talk with him.

"Burt, I'm so sorry, I…"

"What are they doing to get them out of there?" he didn't need apologies; he needed his son.

"They're trying to establish contact with him. But the detectives from New York who arrested last time are on their way." He paused, feeling like he owed him more, but he couldn't give it to him. "They weren't supposed to be there, not like this, I don't…"

"No, don't go blaming yourself, this isn't on you," Burt insisted, and after a moment Will pushed out a breath and nodded.

After them, more parents had continued arriving. Judy Fabray, Al Motta and his wife, Hiram and Leroy Berry… Even the parents of those who had not been taken had come down to McKinley. With each new arrival he had to give the same bare minimum of information, and he had to worry that even as the minutes and the hours ticked by he didn't really have new information to give any of them. There were over twenty people there eventually, with mothers, fathers, siblings, a grandparent or two… With all their faces together it was hard not to see his Glee Club in them, and all Will wanted was to be able to give them more than he already had.

The car with the New York license plates and the police lights was greeted by the cluster of reporters which had materialized as the hours went by, but the detective and the writer had no mind for them, instead being led through until they could reach the director.

"Mr. Schuester," Beckett addressed him and relief washed over him the moment he saw the both of them. He came up, shaking both their hands.

"Thank you so much for coming, really I… I've got about two dozen family members standing over there and I really want to be able to give them some good news."

"That's what we're here for," Beckett bowed her head. "Has there been any development?"

"Not that I've been told, but… he hasn't called in for anything, no demands, not even food. They must be starving in there," he shook his head. He knew his kids, and they did not do well on hunger, and coupled with the stress they must have been under…

"Where are the other four?" Castle asked, and Will pointed. Castle went to them, soon followed by Beckett. Santana saw them first, tapped Puck's arm and nodded for the others to look as well. He was not too familiar with Finn or Lauren. Puck he knew from the night the boy had spent at his apartment when they were trying to make it seem like he was being held for questioning. But then Santana… He didn't really know her, but he knew Brittany and that was as good as knowing Santana, from how she spoke about her. The girl looked to sense that, staring back at him. "Are you alright?" he asked the four.

"Don't worry about us, what are you going to do to get them out?" Puck asked.

"Making contact with him is our first priority," Beckett nodded.

"Excuse me?" they turned to find Carole there, the rest of the parents and family members at her back. "You're the cops from New York, right?" Beckett and Castle moved away from the kids to approach the group there.

"I'm Detective Kate Beckett," she identified herself. "This is Mr. Castle. I know you've all been waiting, and I promise we're going to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible and get your kids out of there."

With the pair of them off talking with Will and the parents, it left the four of them just standing there again, powerless to what was happening to their friends. Santana just stared at the building like her mind was elsewhere, and it was Puck who realized, moving to stand at her side, that she stood with her phone grasped firmly in her hands. It took about a minute more for him to understand why.

"You're not serious."

"I don't know, alright? I'm thinking…"

"Thinking about what?" Lauren asked.

"Shut up and let me think," Santana snapped, her eyes frowning closed, breathing deep like it would help clear the clutter and tell her what to do.

"He's probably taken hers and all their phones away," Puck pointed out.

"I know," Santana had no room for patience. "Just call it a hunch."

"We should tell them first," Finn finally seemed to understand what was happening.

"No," Santana stopped him. "If we do, they won't let me do it."

"Yeah, I wonder why," Lauren replied, and Santana turned on her.

"Nothing has happened for hours, and they're in there, she's in there, I can't just…" Now it was her fear which burst forth. It silenced them for a beat, but then they thought it through.

"If you're going to do this, better make it quick," Puck told her, and that was all she needed. Instinctively she turned her back toward potentially on looking eyes, pulling her phone up to eye level, staring at the screen. Her fingers froze.

"What if he…" she started. But she had to power through, for Brittany, for all of them, yes… So she let her fingers dance across that screen, calling up the familiar number. The ringing tone felt ominous and heavy so long as it wasn't being answered, waited, waited…

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	8. Eighth

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: Parted in Reality._

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**"A Dish Best Served Cold"**

**8. Eighth**

The room had been quiet for some time now. They were all too focused in trying not to think about how hungry they were – which inevitably led to them thinking about it too much – and on top of their fear over what was happening, they had all retreated into themselves.

So when the sound of a song emerged from somewhere, it brought them all out of their hunger daze and back into panic mode, especially as Matheson reacted to it. He turned to the piano, saw among the array of cell phones that one's screen was lit up. He went to it and picked it up, turning back to the gathered kids. "Whose phone is this?" he asked, and hands reached for hands, afraid for what might happen. "Whose… phone?" Matheson raised the gun to get them talking.

"Mine, it's mine," Brittany volunteered immediately, though the others closed in around her like a shield.

"Get over here," Matheson pointed to the ground next to him with the phone which continued to ring. Brittany looked to the others. She didn't want to go, they didn't want her to, but what other choice did they have? She looked to Quinn on one side, Mercedes on the other, and she pushed wobbly legs to raise herself up and carefully walk down from the group to stand where Matheson had told her to go, her eyes planted on the gun like if she didn't look away from it then it couldn't hurt her. He held out the phone to her and kept the gun pointed not at her but at her friends. "Answer it, put it on speaker." She saw on the screen the picture she had taken of her and Santana messing with the blue wigs from the Cheerios' Katy Perry number, and she felt a pang at her heart… All these hours she'd just wanted to get to talk to her, just not like this…

"San… Hi…" she couldn't think of more words.

"Britt…" Santana sounded so relieved, making her cry. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just hungry," she replied, looking to the group who hung to her every word, a life line to the outside. "All of us."

"Everything's going to be alright, okay? You're going to get out of there…" The more Santana spoke, the more something shifted in Matheson's face, like he understood something, and it wasn't good.

"You're one of them," he snatched the phone away from Brittany, who flinched and scurried back in the welcoming arms of the club.

"You bet your ass I'm one of them," Santana's voice showed all the strain of trying to keep her rage together, knowing if she wasn't careful she could get someone killed.

"What about the other three? The tall guy, the mohawk, and the big girl…"

"Standing right here with me," Santana told him, and there was a whimper from the club. "And they're not the only ones w…" Matheson disconnected the call, backpedalling, retreating in thought, and there were eleven pairs of eyes following his every move. Whatever he had in mind, they had a feeling they weren't going to like it.

X

Outside, when the tone had come to indicate the end of the call, Santana had flinched, looking down at the screen. "No, no no…" she shook her head, looking to the others. They all looked back to the school, afraid that they were about to hear a gunshot. But it didn't come. Instead, Santana's phone rang, a minute after the call had been disconnected. She was quick to answer it. "Brittany?"

"Alright, listen up, and if you don't want me to start shooting, you'll make sure to keep this to yourselves and not run to the cops," Matheson's voice came on, and Santana motioned for the other three to huddle in. She couldn't put it on speaker, but maybe they could still hear.

"I'm listening," she promised.

"You, what's your name?" he asked, and she was about to answer but then realized he wasn't talking to her when she heard Blaine's voice in the distance, providing his name. "And you there?" he asked again, and now she heard Sugar's voice. "Alright, it's very simple," now he was back talking to her. "My issue here is with the thirteen of you who got me thrown in jail. Thing is I'm missing four and I've got two extra. So here's what we'll do. The four of you come in here, give yourselves up, and I'll let Blaine and Sugar go." In the background she could hear a bit of a commotion and Santana was still just processing what Matheson had asked, but now she could hear what sounded like Blaine saying he wasn't leaving and Kurt telling him that, yes, he was going. Then she could hear voices telling the others not to come in. She could hear Brittany. Santana covered her mouth not to call right back to her, knowing they needed to keep from being heard.

"What's going on?" Puck asked, and Santana inhaled.

"If we go in, he'll let Blaine and Sugar out," she croaked out. The other three reacted about as she had.

"Silence!" Matheson's voice sounded, and all other voices silenced. "You will come in, and you won't tell the cops. If you don't, then I start shooting," he declared, and Santana could well imagine the club was doing their best to stay silent even as this threat had been placed on their heads. "You have ten minutes." And the line went dead.

X

He had been watching Beckett argue with the Lima cops for over five minutes, and it didn't look like they were getting anywhere. All these hours had gone by and still they couldn't give any sort of relief to the amassed families, as they had yet to make contact with Matheson. He wasn't sure what the holdup was, but Beckett didn't look happy about it. The officer she had been talking to had started off looking relatively commanding, but by the time she was done with him it was like he had shrunk a good six inches. From what he knew, Ryan and Esposito were supposed to arrive within the hour, so maybe things would evolve...

After a moment he thought of Alexis, still waiting at home, and he sighed. He had no real update to give her, but he knew he couldn't leave her hanging either. So he dialled again, got her on the fly like last time. "We're at McKinley now. Nothing much has changed, but we're going to get this sorted, you just… you hang in there," he had almost said 'you just wait,' but that just would have sounded wrong, knowing that was exactly what she had been doing.

"Dad, can you get your phone to Santana so I can talk to her?" she asked after a beat, and he let out a breath; she would be asking that right about now.

"Yeah, just give me a second," he told her, looking to Beckett for a moment. She was still dealing with the cops, so he moved through the crowd, encountering Will. "Where are the kids, my daughter wants to speak with Santana," he explained.

"She's friends with Brittany," he remembered the redhead from New York, nodding in understanding. "Uh, sure, they're over there," he pointed and looked… they weren't there. He frowned, looked in the surrounding area, but there was no sight of them. He moved closer to where they had been standing before, with Castle following. They walked about for a good minute or two before it was becoming clear the four kids couldn't be found. His eyes were on the teacher, and then he remembered the phone.

"Alexis, let me call you back."

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	9. Ninth

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: You'll Find Wonder, chapter 17._

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**A/N: **I'd like to precede this chapter by wishing a haaaaappy birthday to two wonderful ladies!  
Happy 19th to Marie & Charlotte!

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**"A Dish Best Served Cold"**

**9. Ninth**

They had all been in the school while it was empty before. It had been kind of cool and all that, because it was a special thing… This time around though, it was more creepy than anything. In the hurry to clear out the school once Beiste had warned the police and the threat was established, a lot of students had just left. There were school bags next to open locker doors all up and down the halls. They would make their way to the choir room soon, but first they were being made to take a detour by Puck.

"He said ten minutes and he starts shooting, and you… Where are you going?" Santana asked as she, Finn, and Lauren followed. Standing outside, after Matheson's call had ended, it had taken none of them more than fifteen seconds to decide they would do as they had been told. It was their friends' lives, and if this action extended the detectives' ability to get them all out, then they didn't have much of a choice. Even Lauren had not needed to be convinced, and for that they had been so thankful. They had extracted themselves from the mass of people in front of the school and snuck around to the entrance on the side.

A moment later they realized where he was taking them: the cafeteria. They could just run right in. "Grab whatever you can carry. If he wants us, then we can help them," Puck instructed. They were more than on board. The four of them had eaten outside, as provided by their parents. Unlike the other families, they had been secure in the fact that their children were safe and had taken initiative to look out for those others… It did occur to them that this safety was about to get thrown in their faces, but they had to go in and help their friends.

"Here," Lauren had taken off her vest and held it out so they could pack food on to it and carry more than their arms' loads. Santana worked to fill it and, seeing this, Puck had pulled his shirt over his head and had Finn fill it as well.

"How many water bottles can you carry?" Finn asked Santana, grabbing an armful for himself. She went and took some as well, and now they really couldn't carry more.

"Let's go," she instructed the other three. They left the cafeteria, moving toward the choir room.

"Shouldn't there be cops in here right now?" Puck frowned.

"Don't you just feel safe," Lauren sighed. At the door, with all their arms loaded, Santana reached up her foot and knocked at the door. When the door opened, they were startled to find themselves face to face with Brittany. Santana couldn't get over how terrified she looked, and a moment later she saw why. Matheson wasn't taking any chances, so while he'd made her go check and open the door, he had his gun trained on Artie, in the middle of the room.

"What's all this?" he asked, seeing the food and water.

"Look, we're here, we'll stay, but if you want us, then you need to let them have this, too. I'm sure you're hungry, too," Santana stared him down. By his silence, she knew they had him on that.

"Step away from the door," he instructed them, and so they did. "You two," he looked to Blaine and Sugar. "Get out." Sugar was quick to get on her feet, though she did wait before dashing to the door. Blaine though was having a harder time of it, looking to Kurt, shaking his head.

"I'm not doing it," he insisted.

"Yes, hey, you are," Kurt insisted right back, taking his boyfriend's hands in his. "I'll be fine, but you need to go." Blaine was still shaking his head, and Kurt did all he could to calm him, leaning in to kiss him. On contact, Blaine's arms moved around him, not wanting to have to face the thought of something happening to him without having held him before he went. "Go, please," Kurt whispered at his ear, and looking back in his eyes Blaine saw he was crying, they both were. "Go, I love you, please…"

"I love you," Blaine promised back. "I'll see you later," he vowed, and Kurt nodded.

"Alright, enough, get out of here," Matheson insisted, and Sugar tugged at Blaine's hand, leading him out of the room as both of them looked back to the thirteen left behind. They got through the door and they were gone. "Close it again, lock it again," Matheson told Brittany, and so she did. "Everyone sit, eat," he gestured, as though to say 'by all means, since you forced my hand.' They didn't have to hear it twice. Hungry and thirsty, they reached while the four new arrivals helped on distribution. When her arms were free, immediately Santana had gone and sat at Brittany's side, watching her drink down her bottle of water. She'd never been happier to see those blue eyes staring back at her.

"But… you were safe," Brittany looked ready to cry, and if she was honest Santana wasn't far behind her.

"But you weren't," she pressed a hand at her back, reached so her arm was around her.

Puck continued to stand there holding out his shirt with the food, throwing an eye back to Matheson every once in a while. He would have gladly tackled him, something, but even he could tell that would have been a dumbass move right about now. So he went on, finding Quinn, eating her way through a pack of cookies. "Don't go too fast," he told her, and she looked to him. "Are you okay?" he asked. She took a moment to chew, swallow.

"Better now," she held up the cookies. "Thank you," she didn't know what else to say, knowing he and the others had willingly put themselves in harm's way for them, but looking in her eyes he had to know.

"Wasn't about to leave you hanging," he shook his head, just as Matheson called to him.

"Hey, mohawk boy, how about bringing some of that over here," he indicated the food. Quinn could see Puck's face as he received the order, and she gave a very small shake of the head: don't do anything stupid. He let out a breath, understanding, before he could move and bring the shirt over. Standing there while Matheson picked through the loot, it would have been so easy to just try and overpower him, but the man wasn't an idiot, kept the gun firmly in his hand, ready to shoot as he picked out some things. "Now how about one of those bottles," he looked to Finn, who had been standing by Rachel until she would finish a bottle of her own. He was about as reluctant to approach him and give him something as Puck had been, but he did it. The sooner he did it, the sooner he could get back to Rachel. She hadn't said a word yet, took the bottle when he offered it and got to drinking.

"You gotta eat," he crouched in front of her, picking up the items Lauren had left there for her. She looked up to him, and he could see her face flinching and trembling.

"Finn, I'm scared…" her voice came out just as shaky. He frowned, arms reaching to envelop her.

"I know. I'm right here though. Not going anywhere," he promised. He was scared, too, had been even as the four of them had stood out there, but he couldn't tell her that. Right now she needed him. Soon the hunger would recede, they would start feeling better on that front. But once that happened, they would need to face this brand new reality where they were still trapped, more so than before.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	10. Tenth

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: If Ever She Were Lost._

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**"A Dish Best Served Cold"**

**10. Tenth**

Their arrival had been heralded by the reporters trying to talk to them as they emerged from the car. Beckett was still trying to get somewhere with the Lima cops when she spotted them. She left the man she'd been speaking with and moved to join Ryan and Esposito as they came through the crowd. "Welcome to Lima," Ryan looked around.

"I'd like to say I was going to catch you up, but there's literally nothing to tell," Beckett told them.

"Let's see if we can't change that," Esposito was not defeated by this, neither was Ryan, and their optimism was as good as a recharge of energy as she could hope for.

"We're set up over there, although it's not…"

"Beckett," she turned as Castle came up to them, Schuester on his heels. "You made it," he was momentarily distracted by seeing Ryan and Esposito, but then got back on track. "We've got a problem," he told her, and she looked like those were about the worst words he could tell her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I can't find my kids, the four I have out here, we've looked all over," Will explained. He had barely managed to say this when they heard someone call that 'they're coming out!' There was a surge of sound, and the detectives, the writer, and the teacher all looked back to the doors. The cheers were soon revealed to be premature, as only two had exited.

Blaine and Sugar came into the late afternoon light to be ushered through by Lima PD. The team from New York and Will had to wait to get through to them, as the Motta and Anderson families came up to hug their children.

"Blaine, Sugar!" Will called to them when it looked like they were trying to get away from their parents to find him. They came up to him, talking both at once and much too fast. "Stop, wait, slow down, what happened?" Will asked as the other four approached as well.

"He let us go!" Sugar told him.

"In exchange for the others," Blaine followed.

"What others?" Beckett asked, though it was barely to confirm her fears.

"Finn, and Santana, and Puck, and Lauren," Blaine replied.

"How the hell did that happen?" Beckett tried not to sound too aggravated for the scared pair's sake.

"Santana called Brittany's phone," Sugar started. "And the man said if the four of them came in, then he would let us go," she indicated herself and Blaine.

"Ten minutes or he'd start shooting," Blaine shared the rule they had been given. "And they came."

"They raided the cafeteria first, I think," Sugar frowned, now remembering both she and Blaine had yet to eat a thing.

"What's going on?" They looked back and seeing Carole Hudson there just made it worse; now they had to tell those families the bad news.

"I'll handle it, you go and…" Castle told Beckett, indicating the school. She didn't argue, taking Ryan and Esposito with her. "You two go over there, they'll give you food," Castle told Blaine and Sugar.

"I'll go with them," Will told him, staying with his students. Now Castle looked back to the frightened mother, imagining himself in her position.

"Come with me, please," he headed toward the cluster of families. "I need to speak with the Lopez, Puckerman, and Zizes families as well." They came forward, as did Burt to join Carole. All he could do for a moment was to take a breath and then another.

"Where are our kids?" Carole asked. Castle looked to her.

"They're inside now, in the choir room with the rest of them," he came right out with it, and as expected the reaction was immediate. There was an outcry, a mess of voices. He raised his hands to try and quiet them. "Please, if you'll just…"

"How the hell could you let that happen?" one of the fathers asked.

"From what I understand, the kids tried to call in to their friends inside, and Matheson forced them to come inside under threat of starting to shoot," he explained. He couldn't help but look to Mrs. Hudson and Mr. Hummel, who'd had one son on the inside and one on the outside. Despite everything else, they could understand one son needing to do everything he could to help the other. However now they were both in there, as were the other three who'd been on the outside.

"What are you doing to get them out? Because so far all you've achieved is to let this man have even more hostages," the woman he had to guess was Santana's mother asked him before dissolving into a string of muttered Spanish words he didn't need to understand. But then… "You're the writer, aren't you?" she asked, and he nodded. He wasn't sure what that meant for her, but she looked to be turning on to at least some trust. "Just do something. Get my daughter out of there."

"That, ma'am, I will," he bowed his head.

Off to the other side, Beckett had found a spot to talk with Ryan and Esposito. Even before they would start trying to figure all this out, in a way they already knew it all and had to say it just so they'd know the others were thinking the same thing.

"All he's wanted all this time was to get his hand on the kid, those kids, those specific thirteen," Beckett spoke up. "We already know he wants revenge."

"And now that he's got them…" Ryan looked from one to the other.

"This could get bad, real fast," Esposito shook his head.

"Then we better step it up," Beckett agreed. "Come on," she started back through the crowd, signalling Castle on the way.

X

With the exit of Blaine and Sugar and the addition of Finn, Santana, Puck, and Lauren, it was as though the whole room felt different. Never mind the fact that Matheson's whole stance felt changed, there were now two groups united, those who had been there all along, and those who'd seen the outside.

"All our families are out there," Finn whispered, much to the others' relief.

"They're not the only ones who are," Santana added, looking back to the other three she'd come with. It had been a matter of some debate as to whether or not it was a good idea to risk having Matheson hear about this, so if they were going to talk about it, then they needed to be discreet about it. Somehow this sentiment was understood, as everyone displayed very calm faces as they listened. "Beckett and Castle are here," she revealed, and there was just a flinch in their composures. Brittany looked to Santana and got a nod for it.

"Better keep that to ourselves," Quinn gave a side glance back to where Matheson stood.

"But it's good news, right?" Rachel looked from face to face.

"Let's hope so," Mike breathed, Tina's hand safely in his own.

"They better think of something quick," Sam spoke and they looked to him. "Think about it, I mean he looks like things didn't go the way they were supposed to. Now he's trapped, and… what if he gets desperate." This didn't help to lift spirits.

"We can't lose hope," Kurt brought them back. "Not now, not with everything like this." They thought about this, and they agreed. Now was not the time to get sidetracked.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	11. Eleventh

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: You'll Find Wonder, chapter 18._

* * *

**"A Dish Best Served Cold"**

**11. Eleventh**

Will had seen to it that Blaine and Sugar got to eat and drink. As they did, he asked them about what had been happening inside. He could see the worry on the boy's face, knowing Kurt was still inside, but that didn't stop him from providing information, if anything it made him more determined to help. They explained how they had all gone in there early because they had all been so nervous about Matheson possibly coming to Lima, before the man in question had arrived and surprised them. They went on in explaining the boarding up process; they had been completely cut off. And after that, it seemed all they could do was sit and wait, none of them able to get very far without Matheson reminding them of the gun... like they could forget. They reported the numerous unanswered calls to the phone in the side office - he wouldn't dare opening, the door. And then there had been the call from Santana, and the arrival, the trade off and their escape. That was all they had.

"He looked distracted, like he had to figure something out, but whatever it is, he hasn't found it," Blaine concluded.

"Mr. Schuester?" They looked back to find Detective Beckett. She first looked to the two kids, the ones she didn't know. "You two alright?" she asked and they nodded. "Can you tell me what happened in there?" They looked to one another before launching back into the story they had just finished for their teacher. "I want you to stay with your families, alright? No trying to go back in," she indicated the school.

"Fat chance of that," Sugar promised. Beckett looked to her before turning to Will.

"Could you come with us? We could use your knowledge of the building, the room, and the kids."

"Absolutely, anything I can do to help," he nodded and followed her to Castle, Ryan, and Esposito.

"If he won't answer our calls, we need to get eyes on him. We can't start storm the room, too small, too crowded, too risky," she addressed the four men. "What's on the floor right over the choir room?" she turned to Will and he thought.

"Just... classrooms, why?" he asked.

"We could be able to get a camera down into the room through the ceiling," she explained. It only took one second. All of a sudden his face showed realization, along with frustration that he hadn't thought about it before.

"You might not need to," he told them, indicating that they should follow. He led them through the crowd, looking for the telltale gathering of red and white uniforms. He knew she would be with them. "Sue!" he stopped and, when she turned, he signaled for her to come toward them. When she did, she was briefly taken aback as she recognized the famous writer, but then got over it.

"I heard Santana and your other three went in there," she addressed Will, displeased.

"It's a long story, alright, but you may be able to help."

"Go on?" she cautiously asked.

"Do you still have the choir room bugged?" The woman's face betrayed nothing.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she defended, eyes skirting briefly toward the detectives.

"Sue, now's not the time," he begged.

"I won't get in trouble for this? Theoretically?"

"We'll forget all about it," Beckett promised. Finally the coach nodded.

"In my office."

"Show us the way," the detective breathed, the potential for a breakthrough showing itself.

"Wait, what if he's listening?" Castle spoke up. "The reporters are back there looking at everything, if they're reporting about it and he's got a radio, anything..."

"They didn't say anything about that," Will looked back to where Blaine and Sugar stood with their parents, watching them.

"Let's not take any chances. You two stay out here, keep an eye on things," Beckett instructed Ryan and Esposito, while she headed off with Castle, Will, and Sue along the side of the school.

Entering the school, it was hard not to think of just going for the choir room, but they had to keep their eye on the prize. They got to Sue's office and she called up the surveillance feed from the besieged room.

"I was kind of hoping you were joking about having this," Will looked to the coach.

"Bet you're glad I wasn't, now," she told him, as the feed appeared on the screen. They all paused, taken by the sight of the thirteen kids and the gunman. It was particularly difficult for the teacher and the coach.

"You alright?" Castle asked Will.

"I... yes. I mean they're unharmed, that's good news." He looked on to the screen once more. "Is it alright if I inform the parents?"

"Yes, just make sure they understand about the discretion aspect?" Beckett told him.

"Got it," he turned to leave.

"Hold on," she called to him and he turned back. "I need to know, out of that group, who might be trouble."

"Sorry?" He asked, unsure.

"Would anyone try to be a hero, act against him?" He didn't need to think long, and looking to Sue he could tell she was thinking the same thing.

"An hour ago I would have said no, only now..."

"Your flight risks were outside. Now they're inside," Sue reworded for Beckett and Castle. "You've got a wrestler, a delinquent, a leader, and a... well, a bitch..." she shrugged, calling it as even the girl in question would. "Might want to get moving."

X

_New York City_

Alexis had been feeling her heart in her throat since her father had hung up so abruptly before. "Sweetheart, please sit down," Martha begged of her granddaughter as she watched her pacing in a circle around the couch.

"Why isn't he calling?" she looked down to her phone to make sure it was working.

"He's probably just busy doing something to help get these kids out of there."

"What if something happened? What if someone got hurt, what if... what if she's..." Alexis just continued her round. When her phone did ring, she jumped, answering. "Dad?"

"I'm sorry I had to keep you waiting," he replied, and she breathed deep.

"Just... tell me."

"Matheson released two of the kids, in exchange for the four who were outside." For one split second she had started to hope, only to have that turned back to smack her in the face when he went on. He had let her know already who had been outside, and now she knew who the new hostages were. Santana, and Puck, and... "It was not our idea, okay?"

"Dad... Brittany..."

"She's okay," he promised her right away. "We got to see inside the room, I saw her, she's not hurt, none of them are, you hear?" he would have held her if he could. He heard her breath release.

"Okay, well... that's good," she nodded, getting the thumbs up from Martha. She returned with a gesture - not quite.

"Things are progressing, I wanted you to know that."

"Thanks, Dad." She stood silent for a moment. "Next time you call..."

"Hopefully I'll have some good news."

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	12. Twelfth

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: Brotherhood._

* * *

**"A Dish Best Served Cold"**

**12. Twelfth**

It was getting harder to remember what time it was. They had watches, they could see what they said, but it was only a dial, a screen... They had no such concept of time, only that it had been so very long. They all sat huddled together, pairs and trios... Brittany had apparently taken all the stress her mind could handle in a day and was power napping like a champ on Santana's shoulder. This was fine by her, and she kept a protective clasp on the blonde's hands the whole time, never losing Matheson from sight. She wasn't the only one at that.

As much as they were keeping from acting on it, many of them had that impulse in their hearts to try and take the man down. More often than not, there was someone there who could remind them that they best keep quiet, by a look or just by displaying the effects of the situation. Rachel had Finn minded by the fact alone that she was scared. He could see her try to be brave, but once she had crumbled under the pressure of bad thoughts, she could not pick herself up again in a heartbeat. So long as they were stuck here, he didn't see how she would find that push, and he wanted nothing more than to get her there. All that stood in the way was Matheson, but even then... She needed him there to see her through her fear, and he wasn't abandoning her.

Lauren had gone in there, looking past herself and thinking of the people who had been, whether she'd still say it or not, her friends for the better part of the year. Unlike the others though there wasn't anyone there who would really be... Connected to their act, not like Brittany, Rachel, and Quinn had with the others. Still in accepting to go in, she had facilitated Blaine's release, and for that she had earned Kurt's gratitude, and his companionship. He sat at her side, not so much holding her hand but just basically being there with her. She could see how much his current emotional load revolved around the polar opposites of having Blaine's security assured, and the precariousness of his own situation. So eventually she had taken his hand; he held hers gladly.

Then there was Puck. Before long, his intentions to play it cool would get side swiped by the fury and the need to put an end to the problem. The man only served to terrorize his friends, and he didn't like that. He already knew, from their first encounter with him in New York, that he was capable not only of murder but of a twisted way to handle the body after to pass a message. He knew he was calculating, and that he had no qualms about putting his act's on the back of an innocent young girl the way he had done to Brittany, trying to frame her and all. But then if he ever showed whatever sign of wanting to act against him, there would be Quinn at his side, reminding him that he couldn't, or at least shouldn't...

"Shouldn't he have made like demands or something by now?" he asked, looking to Quinn sitting face to face with him.

"Keep your voice down," she whispered and he let out a breath, putting his hands to her arms, just above wrist level.

"Sorry, sorry... But it's a valid question."

"He's gotten calls the whole time," Tina was the one to answer, her and Mike sitting just above.

"Has he answered any of them?" Puck asked.

"None, until Santana on Brittany's phone," Mike replied.

"So my point exactly. He should have made demands by now. How else does he expect to get out of here?"

"Unless he doesn't," Quinn was the one to say it, and she liked it about as much as the others did.

The office phone chose this time to ring, and everyone paused. "Why don't you answer that?" Puck ended up asking aloud, to the dismay of the others.

"How about you let me make the decisions around here," Matheson glared at him. At this point, Brittany had woken from her nap to find the room locked in conversation. She turned her eyes up to Santana before pulling up into a seated position.

"Up to you, but if you keep this up, pretty soon they'll make the decisions for you, if you know what I mean," he motioned a gun. The silence hung so heavy for a moment it strained at their necks to keep their heads up. But then Matheson wordlessly moved to the phone and picked it up.

"What?" he spoke, and the thirteen of them did their best to catch his end of the conversation. At first it was harder, but then hi voice got louder. "I'll tell you what I want. A bus, no... A van, unmarked... Big enough for at least fourteen."

And he hung up. Thirteen pairs of eyes were on him. Thirteen voices could not speak.

X

Outside, Beckett, Castle, Ryan, and Esposito had heard it all. When the call ended, it took them a moment to say something. Now that they had been able to patch through to the feed from the cheerleading coach's hidden cameras, they had been able to see everything as it happened. They saw the kids, all packed in together. They saw Matheson, looking much too confident for their liking...

"Well he's communicating, that's good news," Castle commented.

"Is it?" Beckett looked to him. "It took him this long, and this is what he finally asks for..." She paused, then turned to the officer who had made the call. "Get him back, tell him he'll get his van but he will need to wait until we can find a suitable one."

"You're not actually going to hand them the kids, are you?" Ryan asked a d she frowned.

"Need him to think we are, for now, to buy us time."

"If we let him leave here with them he could kill kill them," Castle wasn't sure he could back this up yet.

"Like he could do that. In the choir room right now. We're not going to let it get that far," she reminded them. "Either way, this is going to be over soon, let's make sure it ends well."

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	13. Thirteenth

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: You'll Find Wonder, chapter 19._

* * *

**"A Dish Best Served Cold: Thirteenth"  
**

_(a bit earlier than usual, but I'm going to be out for most of the day so...)_

After he'd hung up, they'd watched Matheson just standing there in the small office. The mention of a van didn't take long to make its effect on them. They equated landing in that van as a no return. If they were put in that van, then they were never coming home. Now waiting to see what would happen, even after hours of being trapped in that room, was the most stressful moment they had experienced.

When the phone rang again, hands reached out for hands all around, just as they had on and off throughout the day. They listened, waited. It was hard to make heads or tails of what Matheson was being told, from the one side of the conversation that was receiving and not getting, but eventually what they did get was their fears come to pass. They were giving him the van.

"It could be a bluff," Sam tried to sound positive.

"But what if it's not," Tina couldn't help but say, and they all tilted in that line of thinking, little by little. It was hard not to at this point.

"They're abandoning us," Puck shook his head.

"They could stop the van," Quinn looked to him.

"If they get there on time, but they can't promise that. If I'm going down, I sure as hell won't be going down like a sitting duck."

"That's not good, right?" Brittany whispered to Santana, who quietly shook her head.

"We could end this, all of us, if we do it together," Finn put in his support, getting a nod from his friend and a whimper from his girlfriend. "I won't let anything happen to you," he promised, gripping her hands. "But I won't do anything either unless we all agree." He looked to Puck, who took a moment but then nodded: he wouldn't do anything without all out agreement. He looked to Quinn. She stared into his eyes, searched for her solution there.

"Do me a favor, don't get yourself killed?" was her answer, and he smirked.

"Or you'll kill me?"

"Something like that." That was two, three with Finn, and he looked to Rachel. She looked around the room, their room, the place where they had all grown for over two years. She didn't want the memory of Matheson to be its legacy. She looked back to Finn, her gaze focused.

"Okay I'm in," she confirmed.

"You don't need to ask me, you know I'll do it," Santana shrugged, though she looked back to Brittany.

"In a pinch I'm kind of a ninja," she provided, getting a shake of the head from Santana.

"That's six," she provided.

"Make that seven," Mike spoke, and it was the first of them to come from a place of non-confrontation. With the risk of what could happen to them though, to the girl he loved above all else, he'd made a decision, and this she knew as well.

"Eight," Tina added, resting her forehead to his arm.

"Hell, I'm in," Sam slowly nodded.

"Me too," Mercedes looked to him and he let out a breath.

"Same here," Artie followed.

"Hey I didn't come here for the memories," Lauren shrugged. That was twelve.

"Let's make it lucky thirteen," Kurt let out a breath, thinking of Blaine on the outside and hoping he wouldn't be cashing in his chances of seeing him again. "So what do we do?"

X

Standing outside, they had watched over the screen as the rebellion mounted, one member at a time, and it was like watching a disaster come together, at least to them.

"They're going to get themselves killed, you can't let them..." Castle told Beckett, but she was already way ahead of him, signaling Ryan and Esposito. From the surveillance they were secure in the fact Matheson couldn't see or hear them, so they didn't need to go sneaking about.

"I want eyes on that back window, get them in place, then I need you on the doors, we're going in." She looked to Castle and he knew she wanted him to stay outside, just as much as she knew he couldn't stay away. "Don't get in the way, no matter what happens."

"I understand," he nodded.

"Detective, I think they may be going for it," the officer at the monitor warned them.

There was no time to do much more than what they could. The four of them took off running for the front doors, passing a handful of concerned teachers and a crowd of frightened family members, among them Blaine and Sugar.

Three guns pulled out of their holsters as they stalked down the quiet halls. With so few of them in the building, it didn't take long for them to pick up on the semi distant voices, shouting.

It took even less for them to hear the sound of the gun.

"Move in, now!" Beckett ordered, their pace quickening as they reached the choir room. With two of them at each door, they broke through, Beckett leading at one and Esposito at the other.

The image they came upon was not the one they expected, finding Matheson piled on by Puck, Sam, and Finn. The rest of them were spread out all around him like he had been surrounded.

"Get off him," Beckett instructed, the three guns trained on him, making sure he wouldn't get away. The boys did as told, while the other kids rehuddled. Ryan and Esposito hoisted the man to his feet before Ryan cuffed him, as Beckett stared him down. "Jared Matheson, you're under arrest," she breathed. "Again." He was led away before Beckett and Castle could look to the kids.

"Is anyone hurt?" Castle asked, his eyes falling inevitably to the blonde in the cheerleading uniform. She smiled with relief, moving up to hug him.

"Just the piano," Santana pointed to the splintered hole on the side of the instrument. Beckett allowed herself a smile, knowing it was over and they were fine.

"We can take care of that."

"Brad's going to be mad," Brittany's eyes bugged out.

"I think you guys being alright will be a fair trade," Castle promised her. "Now come on, your families are waiting, and your teachers and your friends, and you," he looked to Brittany, "Someone else will want to talk to you."

TO BE CONCLUDED (TOMORROW)


	14. Fourteenth

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: Step Thirty-Seven, Compare and Contrast._

* * *

**"A Dish Best Served Cold"**

**14. Fourteenth**

After they had watched the four run through the doors in such a hurry, it was hard for the people outside to do anything but stand by and wait, their breaths held, hearts drumming... The unmistakable sound of a gunshot had sent them reeling, and there was a further intake of breath.

But then two minutes went by and suddenly there they came, out the door, down the stairs, down the ramp... Thirteen hostages now free, and there was a collective breath released and cheers called out.

The families were allowed through, and now the kids dispersed from their pack. Arms opened wide to welcome them, and none of them were about to let go for some time. To the ones who had gone in when they had already been out, the greeting involved assurances that they were okay, followed by scolding for their actions. For Carole though it couldn't last very long, seeing that now Kurt was alright.

Santana had tuned out as her mother continued to unload in a rapid fire of Spanish about how stupid it had been to go inside. She knew she was just upset and relieved and all that, so she was just going to have to let her unload. Still as she kept hearing why, why, why, her eyes would go to the blonde, just nearby, enveloped in her grandfather's arms. All around them, their friends would cling to their parents, but then they would return to boyfriends, girlfriends, hug them, kiss them... Hers was right there, her girlfriend she had put her life on the line for... and she couldn't do much more than that hug. At least they were alive though... she couldn't ask much more than that. There would be time for the rest later.

Once he had been released by his father, Kurt had wasted no time seeking out Blaine. He spotted him, a few paces away. He looked like he had been waiting, ever respectful in light of the reunion happening with the families, even though inside all he wanted was to rush over there. Now that their eyes had met, all it took was a smile and they were cutting through the crowds to find one another. They embraced with no mind to breath.

"I wasn't too long, was I?" Kurt hoped no one would see him weeping.

"Well I was getting just a bit impatient," Blaine played along, just as emotional.

"Won't let it happen again," he closed his eyes, pulling back to look at him. "I'm just glad you're okay," he wiped at his eyes, trying not to let him see, but Blaine made him look back up.

"And I'm so glad you are, too," he smiled, leaning in to kiss him.

X

_New York City_

Martha had gone about making them dinner. She had wanted to order some takeout, but Alexis looked to the phones with such concentration that taking either of them, even for a couple of minutes, would have been impossible. So she had ventured into the kitchen.

The home phone rang, and Alexis hurried to answer. "Dad?"

"No..." the girl's voice caught her by surprise, blessed surprised, and she sat bolt upright.

"Brittany?" she smiled, as there was a clatter in the kitchen and she looked to find her grandmother staring at her. Alexis nodded, motioning for her to come over.

"Your dad told me you were waiting," Brittany told her.

"Yeah, I was," she was overjoyed to hear her friend. "Is everyone alright?"

"We all got out, but the piano got shot. They caught the guy."

"That's good, that's so good. I'm sorry I couldn't be there, you know?"

"I know. But your dad said he would stick around and you and your grandmother should come down to Lima to see us." Alexis blinked, looking to Martha.

"We'll see you soon," she smiled.

X

_Lima, Ohio_

They had taken Matheson out the back, not wanting to parade him out into the crowd of students, faculty, families, reporters, and onlookers. They would drive him in to Lima PD until they decided how to return him to New York. Castle had stayed at the school with Ryan to close things out. So Beckett and Esposito now sat facing the man.

He looked different from the one they had known in New York, polished, sort of sheepish. Nowadays Matheson looked like incarceration had scrubbed away all pretenses, revealing him for the danger he was.

"Mr. Matheson, do you understand the new charges about to be leveled against you?" Beckett asked him. He still looked distracted, now more than ever. "Mr. Matheson..."

"Should have killed me when you had the chance. I'm never going to let this go. Somehow, I'll get them. I swear."

"Yeah, just keep talking, you're making our case for us," Esposito chuckled. There was no way he was getting out again anytime soon.

X

Will would wait as his students were reunited with their families, but he was so very anxious to get to talk to them. Whenever one would detach from their loved ones and come to him, it was them who held out their arms to hug him, and he didn't deny them. Sugar was right there as well, not passing up on her own hug. Before long, all fifteen were there, even Lauren who wasn't part of the club anymore. If she ever had thoughts of rejoining them, he didn't know this would tip her choice into a yes.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to keep you safe from him," Will shook his head, showing the fear he'd had for his kids throughout the day.

"You helped get us out," Finn wouldn't let him blame himself for this, and neither would the others.

"Yeah, what he said," Santana smiled, and Will slowly nodded, doing his best to accept this.

"Are you going to be alright though? To go back in there?" he asked, and they looked back to the school.

X

When all was said and done, the crowd gone, the club had asked to return to the choir room. They would be joined by Beckett, Castle, Ryan and Esposito. The kids had gone in first, taking it slow.

They had been in that room since early that morning, trapped in it, but now coming back to it they saw it for the site of their siege. The chairs in disarray, the wrappers and empty bottles from the cafeteria loot, their bags, their phones... and of course the hole in the piano. It was still their choir room though. It was the place they came to, where they were a family.

"It's crazy... if it had been any other room, things might not have ended up the way they did," Rachel remarked, and it returned a small, tentative smile on her face, like the room had saved them. This did soothe those of them who remained weary.

"So this is where the magic happens," Castle intoned, further trying - and succeeding - to make them smile.

"This is where the music happens," Brittany corrected, unaware, and Castle smiled to her, by her side.

"I like that," he pointed at her and she beamed.

"I wouldn't keep him here too long," Beckett smirked. "He might break into song." He got that look in his eye then, like an idea. "Not the time, Castle."

"Right," he bowed his head.

"There'll be time for songs," Quinn got the last word of it. "Thanks to you, all of you. Thank you for not forgetting us."

THE END

_**A/N: **There will be a one-shot tag to this story in late July (I want to say the 22nd but don't quote me on that ;))_


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